The historic Christian liturgies are divided between Eastern and Western usages. Among the Eastern liturgies, the Liturgy of Saint James is one of the Antiochene group of liturgies, those ascribed to Saint James, to Saint Basil, and to Saint John Chrysostom. Other Eastern liturgies include the Assyrian or Chaldean rites, as well as the Armenian and Maronite rites. The Byzantine liturgies attributed to Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Basil are the ones most widely used today by all Eastern Orthodox Christians and by the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome.

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The Liturgy of Saint James is considered to be the oldest surviving liturgy developed for general use in the Church. Its date of composition is still disputed, but most authorities propose a fourth-century date for the known form, because the anaphora seems to have been developed from an ancient Egyptian form of the Basilean anaphoric family united with the anaphora described in The Catechisms of St. Cyril of Jerusalem.[1]

The earliest manuscript is the ninth-century codex, Vaticanus graecus 2282, which had been in liturgical use at Damascus, in the diocese of Antioch.

The only critical edition is the one published by Dom B.-Charles Mercier in the Patrologia Orientalis, vol. 26 (1950).

The Liturgy of St. James is commonly celebrated on the feast day of Saint James (October 23) and the first Sunday after Christmas, and then almost exclusively[clarification needed] celebrated on a daily basis in Jerusalem, in the Eastern Orthodox Church.[citation needed] The Liturgy of Saint James is long, taking some hours to complete in full. The recitation of the Divine Liturgy is performed according to the worship rubrics of a particular Rite, with specific parts chanted by the presider, the lectors, the choir, and the congregated faithful, at certain times in unison. Like other compositions in the Byzantine tradition, the Divine Liturgy of St. James as celebrated in Greek forms the basis of the English transcription. In its Syriac form, the Liturgy is still used in the Syriac and Indian Churches - Catholic and Orthodox - both in a Syriac translation and in Malayalam and English.

The hymnographers of the early Church composed both the words of the sung prayers and the tones of the musical scale to be sung in a single codex for a particular community. The annotation was recorded in close correspondence to the text (for sample codices, see those[2] collated by the North American Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Anthony in Arizona) with neumes indicating the melodic tones and their duration used before the adoption of the Western system of staff and scales became established in medieval times. In those communities that worship in Syriac the neumes are mirror images of those used by the authocthonous Greek and Cyrillic Orthodox Churches and written and read right to left in accordance with the Syriac script of the prayer texts.

The English Hymnal features the 1906 Ralph Vaughan Williams arrangement of the English verses of the Cherubic hymn of the Offertory chant (see above) to the melody of a French folk tune Picardy. The hymn known as Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence is also popular in the Roman Catholic Latin rite as an alternative to the spoken communion antiphon.

1.
Crosier
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A crosier is a stylized staff carried by high-ranking Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran, United Methodist and Pentecostal prelates. Other typical insignia of many of these prelates are the mitre, the cross. A crosier staff is a part of the tradition of Jewish Christianity, the staff is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus, when God appears to Moses in the burning bush. God asks what Moses has in his hand, and Moses answers a staff, the staff is miraculously transformed into a snake and then back into a staff. The staff is thereafter referred to as the rod of God or staff of God, and thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, and Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. Moses and Aaron appear before the pharaoh when Aarons rod is transformed into a serpent, the pharaohs sorcerers are also able to transform their own rods into serpents, but Aarons swallows them. Aarons rod is used to turn the Nile blood-red. It is used several times on Gods command to initiate the plagues of Egypt, during the Exodus, Moses stretches out his hand with the staff to part the Red Sea. While in the wilderness after leaving Egypt Moses follows Gods command to strike a rock with the rod to create a spring for the Israelites to drink from, but Moses strikes the rock twice with the staff when the water does not immediately appear after the first strike. For striking the rock twice, implying lack of faith, God punished Moses by not letting him enter into the Promised Land, finally, Moses uses the staff in the battle at Rephidim between the Israelites and the Amalekites. When he holds up the rod of God the Israelites prevail, Aaron and Hur help him to keep the staff raised until victory is achieved. The crosier is the symbol of the office of a bishop or Apostle. In Western Christianity, the crosier is shaped like a shepherds crook and it adds that, when several bishops join in a single celebration, only the one presiding uses a crosier. A bishop usually holds his crosier with his hand, leaving his right hand free to bestow blessings. The Caeremoniale Episcoporum states that the bishop holds the crosier with the side of the crook forward. Another altar server, likewise wearing a vimpa, holds the mitre when the bishop is not wearing it, in the Anglican tradition, the crosier may be carried by someone else walking before the bishop in a procession

2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed

3.
Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
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The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, officially known as Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, is an integral branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church centered in Kerala, India. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, currently Ignatius Aphrem II and it functions as a largely autonomous unit within the church, under the authority of the Catholicos of India, currently Baselios Thomas I. Its members are part of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Thomas the Apostle reached India in AD52 and got followers from prominent families in Kerala, in AD345 Knai Thoma along with 72 Syrian Families and Clergymen arrived Kerala and mark the beginning of Knanaya Syrian Ethnicity in Kerala. In AD825 arrival of two bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Aproth enhanced the relationship between Saint Thomas Christians and the Church of the East, the local administration of the early Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala was done by archdeacons in the absence of a bishop. Archdeacons used to request for prelates from the Church of the East, from the 16th century the Portuguese Jesuits attempted to forcefully bring the community into the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. In 1653, Mar Ahatallah came to Malankara and he was a Syrian Bishop who had converted to Catholicism. He was captured by the Portuguese enroute and was taken to Madras, resentment of these measures lead a part of the community to join the Archdeacon, Thomas, in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese in the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653. The part of the church that resists the Latin power is known as the Malankara Syrian Church, the decisions taken by the Synod of Mulamthuruthy known as Mulanthuruthy Padiyola, is the most important historical document and the early constitution of the Malankara Syrian Church. In 1934 after the death of Mar Divanyasious VI Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs Ignatius Elias III consecrated Paulose Mar Athanasius as the Malankara Metropolitan. At the same time Mar Themothiose Augen I left that faction, the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India is situated near the St. Peters and St. Pauls Jacobite Syrian church Puthencruz. As part of the Syriac Orthodox communion, the uses the West Syrian liturgy and is part of the Oriental Orthodox group of churches. It has dioceses in most parts of India as well as in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, in 2003 it was estimated that the church has 1,200,000 members globally. The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church has been known by several names during its existence, other variants include Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, and Jacobite Syrian Church. Puthencruz is the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India, the headquarters is situated near the St. Peters and St. Pauls Jacobite Syrian church. Its headquarters is named after the illustrious Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Catholicossate chapel is named after Poulose Mar Athanasius of Aluva and under the chapel is situated the space for tombs for the use of future Catholicos of the church. An Arts and Science college named after Mar Athanasius of Aluva is also run in the premises of the Zakka centre. It is the place where Akhila Malankara Suvisesha Yogam, the official gospel convention of the community, Thomas the Apostle is credited by tradition for founding the Indian Church in 52 AD

4.
Divine Liturgy
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Divine Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite which is the Rite of the The Great Church of Christ and was developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term. Some Oriental Orthodox employ the term holy offering for their Eucharistic liturgies instead, the term is sometimes applied also to Roman Rite Eucharistic liturgies, though the term Mass is more commonly used there. In Eastern traditions, those of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Divine Liturgy is seen as transcending time, all believers are believed to be united in worship in the Kingdom of God along with departed Saints and the celestial Angels. To this end, everything in the Liturgy is seen as symbolic, yet also not just merely symbolic, according to Eastern tradition and belief, the Liturgys roots go back to Jewish worship and the adaptation of Jewish worship by Early Christians. This can be seen in the first parts of the Liturgy termed the Liturgy of the Catechumens that includes reading of scriptures and, the latter half was added based on the Last Supper and the first Eucharistic celebrations by Early Christians. Each Liturgy has its differences from others, but most are similar to each other with adaptations based on tradition, purpose, culture. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on the 5 Sundays of Great Lent, on the eves of the Nativity and Theophany, and on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy. In some traditions, Saint Basils Liturgy is also celebrated on the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross on September 14, all together, St. Basils liturgy is celebrated 10 times out of the liturgical year. The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, is used during Great Lent on Wednesdays, Fridays, and a handful of other occasions, and also on the first three days of Holy Week. Nowadays it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy, the Liturgy of the Faithful has no Anaphora. It is traditionally attributed to St. Gregory the Dialogist, although some believe it originated with Patriarch Severus of Antioch. The Liturgy of Saint Mark was also observed in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria on at least that Saints day until recent times. As numbers in a diocese increased dramatically the bishop as presiding over the Eucharistic assembly appointed presbyters as celebrant in the local community, still, the Church is understood in Eastern Orthodoxy not in terms of the presbyter, but the diocesan bishop. When the latter is present, he is chief celebrant, phrases and hymns are also added. The hierarch commemorates his hierarch demonstrating unity with the greater Orthodox community, note, Psalms are numbered according to the Greek Septuagint. For the Hebrew Masoretic numbering that is familiar in the West. The format of Divine Liturgy is fixed, although the specific readings and hymns vary with season, in modern times, this restriction applies only to Holy Communion — reception of the sacrament of holy communion

5.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
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Since 2005, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III. The Patriarch is styled Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Holy Land, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion. The Patriarch is the head of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, the Patriarchate traces its line of succession to the first Christian bishops of Jerusalem, the first being James the Just in the 1st century AD. Jerusalem was granted autocephaly in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon, certainly no spot in Christendom can be more venerable than the place of the Last Supper, which became the first Christian church. James the Just, who was martyred around 62, is described as the first Bishop of Jerusalem and this led to Jerusalem becoming a patriarchate, one of the five patriarchates known as the pentarchy, when the title of patriarch was created in 531 by Justinian. After the Saracen conquest in the 7th century, Muslims recognized Jerusalem as the seat of Christianity, in 1099 the Crusaders appointed a Latin Patriarch. As a result, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs lived in exile in Constantinople until 1187, today, the headquarters of the patriarchate is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The number of Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land is estimated to be about 200,000, a majority of Church members are Palestinian Arabs, and there are also a small number of Assyrians, Greeks and Georgians. The patriarchate was recently involved in a significant controversy, Patriarch Irenaios, elected in 2001, was deposed, on decisions of the Holy Synod of Jerusalem, in the aftermath of a scandal involving the sale of church land in East Jerusalem to Israeli investors. The move enraged many Eastern Orthodox Palestinian members, since the land was in an area that most Palestinians hoped would become part of a Palestinian state. On May 24,2005 a special Pan-Orthodox Synod was convened in Constantinople to review the decisions of the Holy Synod of Jerusalem. On August 22,2005, the Holy Synod of the Church of Jerusalem unanimously elected Theophilos, the early Christian community of Jerusalem was led by a Council of Elders, and considered itself part of the wider Israelite community. This collegiate system of government in Jerusalem is seen in Acts 11,30 and 15,22, eusebius of Caesarea provides the names of an unbroken succession of thirty-six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324. These are the bishops of Jerusalem that lived between the age of the apostles and the referred to, all of them belonging to the circumcision. The province was renamed Syria Palaestina, Jerusalem was left in total ruin, and a new city built nearby called Aelia Capitolina. These gentile bishops, were appointed under the authority of the Metropolitans of Caesarea, until the setting up of the Patriarchates in 325, Metropolitan was the highest episcopal rank in the Christian church. Also, the Council for the first time established the Patriarchates, the Bishops of Jerusalem were appointed by the Patriarchs of Antioch. Macarius I Maximus III Cyril I John II Praulius Juvenal, since 451 Patriarch The Council of Chalcedon in 451 raised the bishop of Jerusalem to the rank of patriarch

6.
Syriac Orthodox Church
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The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, or Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean. Employing the Divine Liturgy of Saint James with Syriac as its official and liturgical language, the church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II since 2014, seated in Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria. The Syriac Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodoxy, a full communion of churches since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Around 825, many Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, affirmed allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, however, another part of clergy gained permission from the Ottoman authorities in Istanbul to reestablish the Syriac Orthodox Church soon after. The churchs present circa 5 million members are divided in 26 archdioceses and its original area is present-day Syria, Turkey, or Iraq. The churchs Levantine ethno-religious identity has been a matter of controversy since the 20th century, many refer to these as ethnic Syriacs or Assyrians, while other advocate the term Arameans. The Syriac Orthodox Church participates in discussions, being a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960. Due mainly to persecution throughout the centuries, a diaspora has spread from the Levant throughout the world, notably in Sweden, Germany, United States, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, and Australia. The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch claims the status as the most ancient Christian church in the world, according to Saint Luke, The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so gentile Christianity started at Antioch, then the center of the Hellenistic East, with Peter. 70 and 130, were out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. When Saint Peter left Antioch, Evodios and Ignatius presided over the Patriarchate of Antioch, because of the significance attributed to Saint Ignatius in the Syriac Orthodox Church, almost all of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs since 1293 have been named Ignatius. Until 498, this church accepted the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch. The church also maintained a smaller church under a Catholicos, known by the title Maphryono. The Christological controversies that followed the Council of Chalcedon in 451 resulted in a struggle for the Patriarchate between those who accepted and those who rejected the Council. In 518, Patriarch Severus of Antioch was exiled from the city of Antioch, on account of many historical upheavals and consequent hardships which the church had to undergo, the Patriarchate was transferred to different monasteries in Mesopotamia for centuries. In about 1160 its seat was transferred from Antioch to the Mor Hananyo Monastery, in southeastern Turkey near Mardin and they reestablished themselves in Homs, Syria due to an adverse political situation in Turkey. In 1959 it was transferred to Damascus, where it currently resides

7.
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
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The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church also known as Indian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church centered in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the churches of Indias Saint Thomas Christian community, the church is headed by the autocephalous Catholicos of the East and the Malankara Metropolitan, presently Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II. It is believed that Saint Thomas Christians of Malabar were in communion with the Church of the East from 496 to 1599. They got episcopal support from Persian bishops, who traveled to Kerala in merchant ships through spice route and ruled by a hereditary local chief called an Archdeacon from Pakalomattam family. Saint Thomas Christians were administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of an Archdeacon and were in communion with the Church of the East, centered in Persia, the indigenous Church of Malabar/Malankara followed the faith and traditions handed over by the Apostle St. Thomas. During 16th century, the Portuguese Jesuits began deliberate attempts to annex the native Christians to the Catholic Church, and in 1599 they succeeded through the Synod of Diamper. Resentment against these measures led the majority of the community under the Archdeacon Thomas to swear an oath never to submit to the Portuguese, known as the Coonan Cross Oath. The Malankara Church consolidated under Mar Thoma I welcomed Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, meanwhile, the Dutch East India Company defeated the Portuguese in supremacy of the spice trade in Malabar in 1663. The Malankara church used this opportunity to escape from Catholic persecution with the Dutch East India Companys help, at the request of the Malankara Church, the Dutch brought Gregorios Abdal Jaleel of Jerusalem, a Syrian Orthodox Church Bishop, in their trading vessel in 1665. Mar Thoma I forged a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church and gradually adopted West Syrian liturgy, while the spread of Christianity around the Mediterranean was led by apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, St. Thomas spread its message in the East. He preached in south India to a community of Jewish diaspora, native Dravidian majority, small groups of Jains, Buddhists. This Nasrani faith it is claimed had many similarities to ancient Judaism, Malankara Nazranies formulated a script to write Syriac-Malayalam after making certain changes in Syriac script. Despite many competing faiths, St. Thomas Christians held to their creed until the arrival of Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century, in 1601, Menezes consecrated Fr. Francis Roz as bishop of Angamaly, which marked the beginning of Roman Catholic hierarchy in Malankara. In 1652 Mar Ahatallah, a prelate from Syria, reached Mylapore near present-day Chennai, in 1653, under the leadership of, Nazranis gathered at Mattancherry church in Mattancherry, Cochin on 3 January 1653, and swore an oath known as the Coonen Cross Oath. As large number people were holding the rope, the cross bent a little and they wanted to combat the aggressive Portuguese padroado rule and regain spiritual and administrative autonomy for the Church. Hence later on 22 May 1653 at St Marys Church Alangad,12 elderly priests laid hands on Archdeacon Thomas and they appealed to several eastern Christian churches to defend their faith from Latin intrusion. Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem regularized Mar Thoma I as the Metropolitan, due to widespread complaints against Jesuits in Malankara, Rome sent Carmelites in two groups from the Propagation of the Faith to Malabar headed by Fr. They gradually gained support, especially with the help of Palliveettil Mar Chandy Kathanar, according to Jesuit reports they succeeded in wooing three of the four advisors of Mar Thoma I

8.
Mar Thoma Syrian Church
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The Mar Thoma Syrian Church is a Syrian Christian church in the state of Kerala, India. Its members are part of the one of the Saint Thomas Christian community, Church in Malabar flourished under various ecclesiastical faith streams from time to time. The Mar Thoma Church is an autonomous Oriental church with Syriac High Church traditions, the church emerged from a reformation movement within the Malankara Syrian Church inspired by contact with Anglican missionaries. The reformation was an attempt to eliminate certain practices prevalent in the Malankara Church which the reformers believed were brought about after the Synod of Diamper and this led to a rift in the church hierarchy between Abrahams supporters and the metropolitan bishop, Mar Dionysius IV. Abraham Malpan sent his nephew Deacon Mathew to Antioch to be consecrated as Bishop Mathews Mar Athanasius, the leadership dispute was settled in 1852 with Mathews Mar Athanasius being recognized as Metropolitan, serving until his death in 1877. The reformist faction renamed to form the Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1898, in 1940 a schism formed in the Mar Thoma Syrian Church over the extent of reformation, the modern reformists founded the St. Thomas Evangelical Church in 1961. Until the beginning of 20th century, Mar Thoma Christians lived in a few districts of Central Travancore, since that time they have spread with the 20th-century Indian diaspora to North America, Europe, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The church currently has around 950,000 members in Kerala and their mother tongue is Malayalam, the language of Kerala. Malabar is a used to denote Kerala coast in earlier days. It was between Gokarnam and Kanyakumari the southern point of India, Kerala, the present south-western state of India is only a part of Malankara. It is also thought to be a cognate of this name Maliankara, a place near Muziris, Mar Thoma is Aramaic, means Saint Thomas. Members of the Marthoma Syrian Church are commonly called as Marthomiyar, the original liturgical language used in Saint Thomas Christians was East Syriac language which is a variant of Aramaic. The Reformation movement in the Malankara Syrian Church later resulted in formation of an independent indigenous Malankara church. In 1898 during the reign of Titus I Mar Thoma the church accepted its name as Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church or Marthoma Syrian Church of Malabar to comprise its order, the members of this church are known as marthoma nasrani or marthoma Syrian nasrani. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church has a constitution and has a democratic pattern of administration. Each diocese has its own council and an assembly, the assembly members are elected by the individual parishes, and the diocesan council members are elected by the assembly. All members of a parish are members of Edavaka Sangham and they also have the right to elect their representatives to the Diocesan Assembly, the title of the head of the Church is addressed as Mar Thoma Metropolitan. He is ordained from among the duly consecrated bishops of the Church, the present Marthoma Metropolitan is the Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma who resides at Poolatheen at Church Headquarters in Tiruvalla, Kerala

9.
Maronite Church
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The Syriac Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church of the Catholic Church. It came in communion with the Pope, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches by the Patriarch of Antioch, officially known as the Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch al-Kanīsa al-Anṭākiyya al-Suryāniyya al-Mārūniyya), it is part of the Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage. Traditionally, the Maronite Church ministers to the Levant, particularly around Mount Lebanon, other centers of historical importance include Kfarhay, Yanouh, Mayfouq and Qadisha Valley. Establishment of the Maronite Church can be divided into three periods, from the 4th to the 7th centuries, a congregation movement, with Saint Maroun as an inspirational leader and patron saint marked the first period. The second began with the establishment of the Monastery of Saint Maroun on the Orontes and this monastery was described as the Greatest Monastery in the region of Secunda Syria, with more than 300 hermitages around it, according to ancient records. After 518, the de facto administered many parishes in Prima Syria. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch re-established their patriarchate in 751 AD, although reduced in numbers today, Maronites remain one of the principals ethno-religious groups in Lebanon, with smaller minorities of Maronites in Syria, Cyprus, Israel and Jordan. Over 3,198,600 Maronites practice the faith, Maron is considered the founder of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite Church. This movement has had an influence in Lebanon, and to a lesser degree in Syria, Jordan. Saint Maron spent his life on a mountain in Syria, generally believed to be Kefar-Nabo on the mountain of Ol-Yambos, thesix major traditions of the Catholic Church are Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean, Constantinopolitan, and Latin. The Maronite Church follows the Antiochene Tradition, a Roman Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his or her obligations at an Eastern Catholic Parish. That is, a Roman Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish, Maronites who do not reside within a convenient distance to a local Maronite Church are permitted to attend other Catholic churches while retaining their Maronite membership. The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly identified five distinguishing marks of the Maronite Church and it is Chalcedonian, in that the Maronites were strong supporters of the Council of Chalcedon of 451. It is faithful to the See of Peter in Rome and it has strong ties to Lebanon. Many of his followers also lived a monastic lifestyle, following Marons death in 410 AD, his disciples built Beth-Maron monastery at Apamea. This formed the nucleus of the Maronite Church, in 452, after the Council of Chalcedon, the monastery was expanded by the Byzantine emperor Marcian. The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St. Marons first disciple, Abraham of Cyrrhus, the Maronites subscribed to the beliefs of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Monophysites of Antioch slew 350 monks and burned the monastery, although Justinian I later restored the walls, correspondence concerning the event brought the Maronites papal and orthodox recognition, indicated by a letter from Pope Hormisdas dated February 10,518

10.
Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa

11.
Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine